HOUSE & SENATE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS WITH EPA ADMINISTRATOR ZELDIN
For questions on the note below, please contact the Delta Strategy Group team.
On May 14, the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held a hearing entitled “A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Environmental Protection Agency” (EPA), with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin as the witness. His testimony is available here.
On May 15, the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held a hearing with Administrator Zeldin to further discuss the EPA’s proposed budget and agency agenda.
Below is a summary of the hearing prepared by Delta Strategy Group, which includes several high-level takeaways.
Key Takeaways
The following is a summary of the main topics explored in the hearing, with further details in the Discussion section below.
- Senator Fischer (R-NE) raised concerns about the Biden administration’s failure to issue the RVOs due last November and criticized the 2023-2025 volumes for being set too low, not accounting for increased soy crush demand and capacity to support biofuel production. She urged the EPA to set biomass-based diesel blending volumes that reflect actual production and industry capacity and asked for an update on the timeline for issuing the RVOs. Zeldin responded by referencing the EPA’s ongoing rulemaking process over the next few months, acknowledging the inherited missed deadline, and stating EPA is working to set the RVOs while ensuring future deadlines are met. He noted there will be a public comment period before a final decision and that EPA has already begun receiving advocacy on the issue.
- Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Moore Capito (R-WV) and House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Simpson (R-ID) asked if EPA will commit to conducting an open, fair, and forthcoming process to quickly resolve the more than 130 outstanding Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) petitions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), as required by law within ninety days of submission. Senator Moore Capito referenced a small refinery in West Virginia that has received favorable rulings in three court cases regarding its eligibility for a small refinery exemption (SRE) under EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program and granted a temporary exemption from its annual Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs).
- Senator Fischer emphasized the need for Congress to pass a permanent nationwide solution to allow year-round E15 sales, citing discussions with USDA Secretary Rollins on the issue. She commended EPA action on emergency summertime waivers but emphasized that it needs a permanent solution to avoid revisiting the issue as a yearly exercise. She highlighted that President Trump attempted to secure year-round E15 through regulation in 2019 and consistently supported it since, asking whether year-round E15 has effectively been in place for six years through regulation and emergency waivers. She questioned whether a permanent legislative solution would be more efficient and effective, with Zeldin stating that Congressional action is the most durable and easiest solution.
- Senator Baldwin (D-WI) emphasized that ethanol and biodiesel producers, alongside corn and soybean farmers, rely on a predictable, forward-looking RFS. She outlined how a strong RFS would provide domestic market certainty during volatile international conditions, support U.S. energy independence, lower fuel costs for consumers, and create domestic manufacturing jobs. She called for the timely release of a proposed RVO rulemaking that reflects market growth and demand in the biofuels sector.
- Zeldin emphasized that energy dominance remains a top priority for the administration. He referenced EPA actions taken in alignment with the President’s directive to expand domestic energy production. He highlighted the U.S.’s track record of reducing emissions while increasing innovation and cleaner resources, reiterating the widespread economic benefits from domestically sourcing reliable, affordable energy, as well as citing the critical implications to national security.
- Zeldin explained that EPA’s goal is to align with the Sackett decision on the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” so that all fifty states follow one consistent definition, which is not currently the case. He noted that EPA aims to establish a durable definition that will not change with every future presidential election and described a simple, straightforward, prescriptive definition of WOTUS as achievable. He also clarified that exclusion from the federal definition does not mean a water body will be unregulated, with state and local governments retaining regulatory authority regarding excluded bodies.
- Zeldin discussed that EPA will continue distributing funding appropriated by Congress throughout the rest of the fiscal year, responding that questions about canceled grants can be addressed individually and affirming state-level engagement on the proposed eliminations. He explained that when the President started, there was an administration-wide pause that was later lifted, with the EPA-specific pause focused on some Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) programs. He stated that grants may be subject to cancellation if not consistent with administration priorities, depending on how the program was appropriated by Congress and the details of the individual grant.